Friday, September 9, 2011

Ogden reading with Helen Gillet

Last night's reading from New Atlantis accompanied by one of the book's stars, Helen Gillet, was a truly magic evening. Helen played music from her new recording, Running With the Bells, accompanied by saxophonist/flautist Tim Green and drummer Doug Garrison. The music was by turns earthy, ethereal, spiritually sustaining, challenging and peaceful. The audience at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art listened carefully, then remained silent in rapt attention as I read passages from the book about Helen while she sat next to me, commenting occasionally on the text. We finished with a quote about how her experiences working with the Silence Is Violence community group helped her as an improvisor, and I used that as a jumping off point to begin the interview portion of the program with her. After we completed the interview Helen's band returned for another set and I signed books and talked with some of the wonderful people in attendance at the event. Just another example of the grace we all experience in this glorious city of New Orleans as it rebuilds itself in an image not born of greedy developers and political chiselers but of artists and artisans, people who find meaning in their work and are always looking to help each other reach a better place. Helen and I will join up again September 19th at the Observatory at Proteus Gowanus in Brooklyn, New York, where she will perform, I'll read and talk with her and then I'll DJ a New Orleans dance party.

About Me

John Swenson has been writing about popular music since 1967. He edited the award-winning website jazze.com for Knit Media and has worked as an editor at Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, Circus, Rock World, OffBeat magazine and been published in virtually every popular music magazine of note over that time. He was a syndicated music columnist for more than 20 years at United Press International and Reuters. Swenson has written 14 published books including biographies of Bill Haley, The Who, Stevie Wonder and The Eagles and co-edited the original Rolling Stone Record Guide with Dave Marsh. He is also the editor of The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide.
In another role Swenson is a veteran sports writer who covered the New York Rangers for 30 years, writing pieces for outlets from Rolling Stone to the Associated Press. Swenson is also a veteran horseracing columnist and handicapper who covered the New York racing scene as a columnist for the New York Post and the New Orleans Fair Grounds meet for The Daily Racing Form. His profile on jockey Steve Cauthen: Rise To Stardom, Fall From Grace in Spur Magazine was nominated for an Eclipse Award.